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SEC Week 3 Recap

Alabama 41 vs Colorado State 23 –

The score makes the game look a little closer than what it was, with Colorado State scoring 13 in the 4th.  Alabama jumped out to an early lead, led by three total touchdowns by QB Jalen Hurts. Alabama showed its ability on the run game with 3 different guys scoring on the ground (Hurts, Scarbrough and Harris). Alabama faces its first SEC opponent next week when they travel to Nashville to play Vanderbilt.  

Mercer 10 vs Auburn 24 

Auburn entered the game on Saturday against the Mercer Bears as a 40 point favorite, needless to say it was slightly closer than the experts thought.  Auburn was plagued by turnovers; the Tigers committed 5 without forcing Mercer into any.  Auburn went into halftime up 10-3 but never ran away with the game.  Auburn was led by the workhorse RB Kamryn Pettway who finished with 128 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Though QB Jarrett Stidham didn’t throw a touchdown, he completed 32 of 37 throws for almost 400 yards.  Auburn begins SEC play next week with a trip up to Mizzou.

Tennessee 20 vs Florida 26 –

Now if you didn’t like Butch Jones before, I’m assuming Saturday didn’t help. With a score of Florida leading 6-3 at the end of the 3rd quarter, both teams waited until the 4th quarter to score the game’s first touchdown.  Tennessee’s bright spot was John Kelly who continued to impress with 141 rushing yards and 1 touchdown.  After picking off Florida late in the 4th, Tennessee settled for a field goal to tie it up.  With no time remaining on the clock, Florida’s Franke launched a 63 yard Hail Mary to Tyrie Cleveland for the game winning touchdown.  Now granted, completing a Hail Mary is rare; probably one of the rarest plays that may happen in football but Tennessee didn’t help the odds. Butch Jones and the Volunteers were running a Cover 2 package.  Ask any coach in America and cover 2 would be one of the last packages they use for that situation.  Tennessee hosts UMASS next week while Florida hosts a 3-0 Kentucky squad.

Samford 14 vs Georgia 42 –

In his first start between the hedges, freshman Jake Fromm continued to look sharp throwing for 3 scores and 165 yards.  With Sony Michel out due to an ankle injury, Nick Chubb took care of business on the ground. Chubb rushed for 2 touchdowns and 131 yards on 16 attempts.  Georgia now turns its focus to what looks like the SEC game of the week against Mississippi State.  

Kentucky 23 vs South Carolina 13 

Not only did South Carolina lose the game, they lost their explosive play-maker, Deebo Samuel. Samuel suffered a broken leg in the third quarter, ending his night with 5 catches for 122 yards and a TD.  Hats off to the Wildcats, Kentucky showed up in a game where nobody gave them a chance.  UK was led by sophomore running back, Benny Snell Jr, who finished with 102 rushing yards on 32 carries and 2 touchdowns.  Kentucky is 3-0 for the first time since 2010, they’ll head to Gainesville to face Florida next week.  South Carolina looks to bounce back by next week against Louisiana Tech.

 LSU 7 vs Mississippi 37 

Dan Mullen may be one of the biggest names in the college football coaching sweepstakes and this game sure helped.  Mississippi State put on a clinic Saturday night in Starkville.  Penalties were the name of the game for LSU early but in the end, it was Fitzgerald that killed the Tigers.  Fitzgerald ended up with 266 total yards and 4 total TDs, 2 in the air and 2 on the ground.  LSU didn’t have an answer and the offense didn’t provide much support.  LSU QB Danny Etling completed less than 50% of his passes and was held to 136 yards.  The Tigers lone score came on a 10 yard run by RB Darrel Williams midway through the 2nd quarter.  LSU hosts Syracuse next week while Mississippi State travels to Athens to take on Georgia.

Purdue 35 vs Missouri 3 

After week one, Drew Locke and Mizzou looked like they were going to have an explosive offense and a struggling defense.  Well through week 3, half of that narrative has held true.  Mizzou’s defense has gotten slightly better but the offense has sputtered.  After being held to 10 points against South Carolina, the Tigers were only able to put up 3 points against a Purdue team projected to finish in the bottom half of the big 10.  Locke finished 12-28 with 2 interceptions.  It doesn’t get easier for Mizzou as they host Auburn this weekend in Columbia.

Ole Miss 16 vs California 27

In a late night game, Ole Miss traveled to the state of California for only the 2nd time to face off against the Cal Golden Bears.  Everyone expected a shootout between two high powered offenses, in particular the one lead by Shea Patterson.  Patterson looked sharp in the first quarter; he was escaping trouble and hitting his receivers in stride.  Ole Miss put up 10 in the first and looked to be in control after getting some defensive stops.  After only scoring 6 points the rest of the half, the Rebels were blanked in the 2nd half resulting in an 11 point loss.  Ole Miss gets a bye in week 4, which may be needed to prepare for their trip to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama the following week.

UL-Lafayette 21 vs Texas A&M 45 

This game looked like it could be the final straw for Kevin Sumlin when his squad trailed the Ragin’ Cajuns 21-14 at halftime.  The Aggies needed a statement win this week, though they didn’t start out hot, they came out of the locker room for the second half with a focused mindset. A&M outscored UL-Lafayette 31-0 in the second half to seal the win.  The Aggie’s freshman QB Kellen Mond had himself a game, finishing with over 300 passing yards and 3 TDs.  The Aggies begin SEC play next week when Arkansas comes to College Station, a game that features 2 coaches on the hot seat.

Kansas State 7 vs Vanderbilt 14 

Derek Mason may have something building in Nashville.  With the win Saturday, his team is 3-0 and has outscored their opponents 90-13. With a ranked Kansas State team coming into town, this week was a chance for Vanderbilt to prove they may be legit. The defense came to play as many expected, holding Kansas State to only 76 yards through the air and picking off the wildcats twice.  Vandy’s sophomore QB, Kyle Shurmur, has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation.  He finished with 205 yards, completing 14-23 passes.  This season Shurmur has completed 72% of his throws for 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.  Vandy gets a huge test on Saturday when Alabama rolls into Music City; the game is on CBS and will be a true test for Derek Mason and his squad.